Planned Activity Groups

We manage two Planned Activity Groups (PAGS) for adults who may benefit from support to access social activities.

We encourage participants to get involved and offer a wide range of activities:

Activities include:

• Weekday centre-based activities
• Optional weekday community-based activities and excursions
• Shed program
• Eyres House weekend overnight cottage respite program
• Eyres House dementia focused activities 

Adults who may benefit from our support to participate in social activities. This support may be short-term, or longer-term. People will usually have some limitation related to age, disability, isolation or a particular condition, such as dementia, which affects their capacity to be totally independent.

To join an activity program, participants should be able to cope in a group. Your level of mobility, with or without aids, should not require our staff to perform any manual lifting or transferring while you are with us. 

Participants will need to register as a client of one of our centres to attend on a regular weekly basis. Attending one of our sessions weekly will then allow participants to;

• Get to know our staff: we do things with you, and not for you.
• Participate in activities and events run on-site at our centres, at local community venues or excursions.

For information on any of our Planned Activity Groups, please contact each centre directly. You can also contact the Community Programs Central Intake Program.

You can arrange a visit and chat with one of our staff about your needs, opportunities and referral processes.

We welcome referrals from individuals, families, health professionals and regional services.

Please direct referrals to the Planned Activity Groups Service as follows:

• Over 65 years through the My Aged Care Portal
• Under 65 years to the Central Intake Team. Information to be provided on the SCTT referral form (Victorian service coordination tool template)
• For clients receiving National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) or Home Care Package (HCP) funding, direct referrals to the Central Intake Team. NDIS clients please use the NDIS referral form, and HCP clients please use the SCTT referral form.

Central Intake Team

(03) 5320 6690

centralintaketriage@bhs.org.au

Is there a fee for service?

PAGS is a government funded service so eligible participants are subsidised and charged our minimal fee only.

For adults who receive other forms of government funding, such as National Disability Insurance (NDIS) and Home Care Packages (HCP), limited places are still available to attend. These places are not subsidised and so the full fee for service will be charged. 

Please note that as our PAGS are not a registered NDIS service provider, our service agreement is established with the client who is invoiced directly or through their financial intermediary.

The daily fee covers attendance and a meal, and is invoiced to you by Grampians Health Ballarat at the end of each month. Participants attending community-based activities will need to pay any entry fees on the day, if required (e.g. swimming pool entry).

Our current fee schedule is available on request.

(current fee range - minimum daily attendance $7.70 maximum daily attendance $140.00; minimum cottage respite session $25.00 maximum cottage respite session $290.00; meal $10.00)

Am I eligible to attend?

Please refer to the information provided under “Who we care for”. The program is available to adults within the service region who have a need for social support, are able to participate and benefit from the activities, can cope in a group setting with one staff for five participants, who do not require manual handling assistance and do not have a potentially negative impact on the safety of any participants.

Is transport available?

Our service has limited availability on small buses, for an additional fee, to assist with transport to and from the centre; this is prioritised for people who have no other transport options available to them.

Is the program accredited?

Our service is governed by the policies of Grampians Health Ballarat; we participate in regular quality reviews to maintain accreditation with the Australian Aged Care Quality Agency; our service undergoes annual audits to maintain compliance with health service-level food safety standards.

Are staff qualified?

PAG staff have a minimum Certificate 3 in Aged Care; the coordinator of each centre has a minimum Certificate 4 in Aged Care; all staff have food safety or food supervisor-level certificates and CPR; all staff comply with the mandatory competencies and police check requirements of Grampians Health Ballarat.

What information do I need to provide?

Your consent is required for us to obtain relevant personal information from you, to participate; this information remains confidential and is de-identified for our service reporting processes to the government departments, who provide our funding; your information helps us to develop a meaningful program plan and current emergency plan for you while attending.